College Sports

OMAHA, Neb. — Fresno State went from underdogs to "wonderdogs" en route to a most unlikely national title.

With Steve Detwiler providing all the offense Justin Wilson needed, the Bulldogs captured their first national championship in a men's sport with a 6-1 victory over Georgia in the decisive Game 3 of the College World Series finals.

Detwiler homered twice and drove in six runs. Wilson allowed five hits in eight innings to cap Fresno State's wild ride.

"From here on out, underdog does not mean anything," CWS most outstanding player Tommy Mendonca said. "... We showed anything can happen."

Fresno State was forecast to be a Top 25 team coming into the season, but the Bulldogs lost 12 of their first 20 games. They needed to win the Western Athletic Conference tournament just to make the NCAA field of 64, fought off elimination in regionals and super regionals, and became the first No. 4 regional seed to reach the CWS since the tournament expanded in 1999.

The Bulldogs (47-31) from California not only showed they belonged, they showed they were the best, even though no previous national champion had more losses. The national title was the second in school history. Fresno State won the 1998 women's softball title.

"They're a true champion, and they did it the hard way," Georgia coach David Perno said.

Fresno State knocked off No. 3 national seed Arizona State in the super regionals and beat No. 6 Rice and No. 2 North Carolina twice to get to the CWS finals. By the time the Bulldogs met up with Georgia, the No. 8 seed, in the best-of-three final round, the slogan "Underdogs to Wonderdogs" was being spotted on T-shirts and signs all over Rosenblatt Stadium.

"These guys beat the best," Fresno State coach Mike Batesole said, "and I guess that's what you have to do to win a national championship."

Miami, the No. 1 national seed, brought three first-round draft picks to Omaha and left after three games. Fresno State's highest draft pick was second-rounder Tanner Scheppers, and he missed the postseason with a shoulder injury.

"It goes to show you don't need that first-round draft pick on your team to win that national championship," left fielder Steve Susdorf said. "You need 25 guys. We were all committed to the team. No one was about himself."